The Belt and Road Initiative carries broad implications for China's further development and the development of her partners. Along the proposed routes, China is pushing to build a number of financing platforms and logistical hubs to support the construction of infrastructure. In addition, China takes advantage of existing regional cooperative mechanisms and many bilateral mechanisms to form a new sustainable mechanism. What is more salient to international politics are China's new efforts to change its geostrategic posture and steadily gain real control of the international system. A new model of nonwestern oriented international cooperative mechanisms will shape a new paradigm through cooperation with emerging economies. This paper explores the strategic nature of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative based on China's progressing geo-strategic perspective. It also attempts to examine to what extent the strategy might be able to help improve China's image in the region and how the strategic development of the Kra Canal might affect the strategic landscape in East Asia.
